Light in the Darkness

Cowboy Micah.

2012-01-27T19:41:00.003-07:00

Ice Cream Wednesday.

2012-01-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

I may or may not have agreed to let my boys choose their own dinner at the end of an exhausting day. Ice cream it is. They think I'm such a cool mom.

Micah and Elley.

2012-01-27T19:34:00.001-07:00

About a boy's heart.

2012-01-24T10:25:00.001-07:00

I paid Ethan a mid-day visit at school last week after he and a friend went from playful fighting to smacking each other a little too roughly on the playground.

I prayed as I worked through the morning and asked the Lord to make it clear what my son's heart needed in this instance.

Here's what I felt led to do: I took him outside and asked him to recount the morning's incident for me. He was clearly upset for the decisions he made. He explained that as he was about to hit her (yes, her) again, something inside of him told him to stop, that she didn't deserve to get hurt, and he started crying. He went to see the teacher and expressed his need for a severe punishment. He mentioned that he wanted to hurt himself and this gave his teacher a reason to call me.

It's hard to explain what repentance and contrition look like, but when he looked me in the eyes, I saw a truly sorry heart. That's all the evidence I needed to know that he had learned his lesson, and no amount of punishment would help him understand it any better. If the point of discipline is to teach a lesson, then I think God disciplined him without my assistance. That's a sweet place to be, I've discovered.

Because I saw this in him, I took a different route. He expected scolding, correction and consequences (my typical mode of operation). Instead, I told him I was proud of him for stopping and asking for forgiveness. I told him that his heart was soft and open to correction and that I was proud of him. *Proud of him.* Because our God is a God of forgiveness, a God who looks at the condition of the heart.

I reminded him of my many mistakes and that we serve a God of grace and mercy. I told him I loved him always, and we went our separate ways to finish our day.

I believe in God's grace, and that it's not just for an overextended mom. I believe that God is writing His story in each of us, and I want to be a part of that story in my son's heart. And so, we tried grace.

And it worked.

It has to do with me and Him.

2012-01-16T19:26:00.001-07:00

"But then God whispered: "Lauren, when you're lonely, it has nothing to do with other people. It has to do with you and Me."

Lauren, when you're lonely, it has to do with you and Me.

Lauren, when you're angry, it has to do with you and Me.

Lauren, when you're selfish, it has to do with you and Me.

Lauren, when you're worried, it has to do with you and Me.

Lauren, when you're bitter, it has to do with you and Me.

Lauren, when you're jealous, it has to do with you and Me.

It has nothing to do with other people. It has only to do with our heart and His."

- Lauren Nicole

Tattoo envy.

2012-01-16T18:57:00.002-07:00

I totally have tattoo envy.

I know, I know. Lanny's already given me the "you're crazy" look, but a girl can dream, right?

ίαση

It is the Greek word for "the process of healing."

On the inside of my right ring finger.

I like the way it captures the hope and promise of this journey toward healing, with a simple and beautiful word.

Broncos playoff game!

2012-01-08T15:36:00.003-07:00

We stumbled upon a couple of Broncos playoff game tickets this morning. Lanny was just getting off of work and (on one hour of sleep) couldn't pass up the opportunity to make some memories with Ethan. Sweet, sweet man, that one.

My handsome guys.

2012-01-07T20:57:00.001-07:00

Sweet Micah.

2011-12-30T14:28:00.001-07:00

MJ learns to ski!

2011-12-30T14:04:00.003-07:00

Today, while I slept in without the typical cheerful morning greetings of my little guys, Lanny woke up before dawn and took the boys to the mountains.

Ethan's been skiing for years, so we wanted to bring Little Brother up to speed. Today's goal was to teach Micah how to ski and Ethan how to snowboard.

It takes a brave man to tackle a mountain with two little guys solo.

He's such a great dad!

The Big Christmas Surprise.

2011-12-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

One of the best moments of Christmas morning was surprising Ethan with the gift he wanted most. Lanny bought him a mountain bike - a really nice mountain bike (thank you Pepe Jacques, Melanie and Meme Eliane!) - a couple of weeks ago. Our sweet friends allowed us to store it at their house (sorry for all the head bumps, Kate) until Christmas morning.

We opened our gifts in order of size this year. I honestly think every single thing Ethan got was something he'd been drooling over for months and months. We are so grateful for a family that loves to pay attention to what makes our kids smile, and for their generosity in making their Christmas morning dreams come true. Once the kids were finished opening their gifts, I said, "Hey Ethan, can you please help Dad get something out of his car?"

"What? What? Can it be??!"

"Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh!"

"I got a mountain bike! I GOT A MOUNTAIN BIKE!!"

This is the first bike that is big enough to fit on Daddy's bike racks.

They are super stoked about venturing out to the mountain trails this summer.

I love that they share this hobby.

And I love making my kiddos smile.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

Stocking love.

2011-12-29T19:44:00.001-07:00

Daddy worked Christmas Eve and was scheduled to arrive around 9:30 Christmas morning, which meant we needed a plan of action since these two would be ready to Do Christmas many, many hours before that.

After we convinced Micah to get up, we headed down to the living room and I gave the boys their stockings.

Two very different approaches, these two.

Ethan likes to pull out one toy at a time.

He looks at it, enjoys what it is, thanks me and then moves on to the next.

Micah picks up the stocking and dumps everything out.

All of it.

Out. Now.

And then he sits down to evaluate his prizes.

They are one of the main reasons I love Christmas so much!

Keeping traditions, well...traditions.

2011-12-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions as a child was getting up at 4:00am and heading over to my grandparents' house. By the time we arrived, my uncle usually had a fire going in the fireplace (along with the air conditioning running because this was Texas, folks).

Christmas presents overwhelmed the living room floor.

My grandma wore wonderful red pajamas and a beautiful smile.

My grandpa was in bed squeezing in an extra few minutes of sleep before we all (seven plus) pounced on their bed and literally drug him down the hallway to the living room.

* * *

So as I was snapping these pictures of us waking Micah up early Christmas morning, I couldn't help but think of those many, many years of memories. He is his great-grandpa's great-grandson, after all.

...off to Christmas morning we go!

Our mom would have been so proud.

2011-12-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

Yes, they sure do.

Let me tell you...

Anxiously awaiting the first sighting of Our Marine during the 7:00am motivational run.

About you to be released for a five-hour on-base family day,

which means we're about to get our hands on him!

...a million emotions sparked:

overwhelming tears,

love,

joy.

I couldn't get enough of him.

I kept hugging him, holding his arm, grabbing his shoulders.

He said he didn't mind since he hadn't had any physical contact in three months.

So I kept at it.

We were all enamored, really.

Blown away.

Honored to call him Our Marine.

The chivalry was unparalleled.

It made me want to stand a little taller.

So proud. Just so incredibly proud.

Our mom would have cried all four days, I'm sure of it.

* * *

I can hear her now:

"I knew it. I just knew you were going to do something great with your life; you just had to discover yourself. I knew you had it in you. You're inspired, dedicated, sensitive, caring, strong, disciplined, polite, loving, and my son. I've always believed in you, Cody. I never doubted you for a second. You make me proud."

* * *

I wish she could have been there.

Oh, Christmas Tree...

2011-12-13T10:45:00.001-07:00

It's become their Christmas tree. I let them decorate it as they wish,

which means...

I get to snap pictures of my favorite people,

capture precious moments,

remember where it all began,

see where Micah gathers all of his ornaments,

let boys be boys,

and tell the story one picture at a time.

Decorating for Christmas

2011-12-13T10:42:00.002-07:00

As we pulled out the Christmas decorations, our boys discovered that we have entirely too many stockings. (As in, we have over a dozen.) So they got a little creative. Adorably so.

Cooking fun(ny)

2011-12-13T10:38:00.000-07:00

You have to have fun when you're cooking all the livelong day.

I love our family.

Micah and the reading chair.

2011-11-12T16:11:00.001-07:00

Another adorable boy.

Ethan and the reading chair.

2011-11-12T16:09:00.001-07:00

A little post-football game (note the faded black paint under his eyes) reading in Daddy's Bible. I love this kid.

He is just so handsome.

Ethan's photography

2011-11-12T15:59:00.001-07:00

Are you ready to be amazed? Take a peek at Ethan's work with my Nikon.

Trick or Treat!

2011-11-12T13:00:00.001-07:00

He had loads of options this year, but when push came to shove. . .

he shoved his four-year-old body (in all its tallness) into last year's dinosaur costume.

And he's still just as cute.

If you're wondering where Ethan is, just look a little to the right of the dinosaur. Yep. You see those ~~adorable~~ super ninja tense brown eyes? There he is.

After a yummy chili dinner with our friends, Micah and Lanny went trick or treating with our fun neighbors and their daddy, while Jen and I set up camp in her driveway with pumpkins, flashing lights and lots of candy for the fun of seeing everyone else dressed up.

(Seriously. Where is Ethan? I can hardly see him.)

Ethan received an invitation from his school buddy to go trick or treating with him and his mom. Two hours later he came home with over 10 pounds of candy. Jackpot.

Guess Who's Four?

2011-11-12T12:37:00.001-07:00

A whole lot of birthday fun...

Birthday breakfast!

Presents,

presents,

presents!

Some deliciousness for Mr. Birthday and his friends.

Costume birthday party time!

A little play time.

A little impromptu reading circle time.

* * *

Now, Parade Time!

And...off we go!

Marching, marching, marching...

Happy, happy birthday boy!

Did someone call for a Spiderman?

I've got a few really cute ones!

(applause, applause, applause)

. . .and, take a bow, kiddos. Well done!

It was a great birthday full of celebration!

You are a whole lot of greatness, Mr. Micah. And we are so blessed to call you ours.

Love you,

Mom, Dad and Ethan

He's got a way with the girls, this one.

2011-10-28T12:55:00.002-06:00

"I dropped Abby off at preschool the other day and Micah kindly asked her if she wanted to play with him. He got up from his chair, offered it to her, and moved into the chair next to her."

* * *

"Mrs. Nancy pulled me aside the other day and told me that she has to remind Hannah, often, to stop kissing Micah."

* * *

"Lizzie pulled her fleece hat off and her hair stuck straight up. Micah walked over and said, 'Lizzie, I just love your hair.'"

A little trip to the pumpkin patch in a leather jacket.

2011-10-22T15:05:00.003-06:00

A splash of fall colors, and some pretty cute guys.

2011-10-21T12:15:00.000-06:00

Daddy vs. Ethan and Micah

2011-10-17T09:24:00.002-06:00

"Someday you guys are gonna take me out," he said as he tackled the boys to the floor and tickled them until they nearly peed their pants.

"But until then..."

And they will. Someday, he's not going to stand a chance against those two!

Give away!

2011-10-07T17:23:00.002-06:00

I'm studying like a crazy girl for my counseling recertification exam next Friday. I've been counting down to October 15 for months now - just get me through October 14, Lord.

My exam will be over by next weekend, folks, which has put me in a giveaway mood!

FREE Family Holiday Session giveaway!

How to enter:

Tell everyone you know to "like" Alli Dunham Photography on Facebook and to leave comment on the page that you sent them.

I will tally the votes one week from today (October 14, 2011) at midnight.

The person with the most "He/She sent me" will win a free mini session and CD with 10 images!

Wedding bliss captured.

2011-10-06T18:50:00.004-06:00

Though I posted more of these here,

I couldn't help but bring some of these over to my personal blog.

This adorable couple, Alex and Alyssa Ferrero, are near and dear to our family.

Alyssa is a bright and gorgeous woman. She is a beautiful writer. She has a smile that touches souls, a joy that is contagious, and a heart to love. Her soul mate, Alex, is gentle and loving. He shares her love for writing and her heart for Christ. He has a twinkle in his eye when he looks at his girl - just see for yourself!

They are beautiful, and in love.

And I got to capture their special day.

(smile)

Ethan and Macey.

2011-10-06T16:45:00.003-06:00

It's all about teaching her how to do things and then one-upping each other with these two.

They're a cute bunch.

Budding friendship.

2011-10-06T16:42:00.000-06:00

"Mommy, where's that little girl? She needs to be here with me."

It's time for fooooootball!

2011-10-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

And here's what Little Brother does while Big Brother is playing hard.

Enough flirting. Back to the game, folks.

A little half-time "me-and-you-kiddo" pep talk with Coach Tim.

Back to business.

Good game, Ethan!

Me? The photographer? Oh, well yes, I am.

2011-09-30T14:55:00.001-06:00

(Upon my arrival at the hotel for check in.)

"Hello, I'm a bit early for check-in. My name is Alli Dunham."

And was greeted by the woman standing next to the woman I was speaking to,

"Hi Alli! I already have you checked in. You're Alyssa's photographer, right?"

So, you know, that's pretty fun.

With my boys in the very loving hands of my mother-in-law for the weekend, I'm off for a couple of days of fun, photographing my dear friend Alyssa's wedding.

There's so much to smile about here!

Favorite things

2011-09-21T17:56:00.001-06:00

"Boys, what was your favorite thing about today?"

"I found a cactus when Dennis and I were walking to school! And when I got to class, Mrs. Lacy gave me a Ziploc bag to put it in." -Ethan, age 8

"Lightning McQueen has wheels. Race car wheels." -Micah, age 3

I don't suppose a day can hold too much greatness. Thank you, God, for cacti and wheels. I like the things that make them smile.

Dunham Dress Code?

2011-09-19T11:24:00.004-06:00

This is what he looked like when I picked him up from school on Friday.

He looks devastated, doesn't he?

Remind you of someone else from several posts back?

All boy play date - except she's a girl

2011-09-18T14:32:00.001-06:00

"Are you interested in Bakugans? If you are, meet me in my room. There might be underwear on my floor," he said.

"I've seen my dad's underwear before," she said.

Racecar speed

2011-09-14T08:44:00.002-06:00

"Mom? Are we going 25? Can we go 28, like a racecar?" -Micah, age 3

Mitt therapy

2011-09-14T08:24:00.002-06:00

I was ready to serve up dinner when I turned around, oven mitt on one hand, serving spoon in the other, to find Lanny standing there trying to serve the food.

I nearly knocked him over, we were so close.

And I snipped - rudely - "What are you doing?! Don't you see me standing here with the oven mitt and the spoon?"

(How dare he try to help his tired wife at the end of his very exhausting day? I mean, of all things.)

He looked right in my eyes, yanked that oven mitt off my hand and smacked me with it. "Sometimes you must forget that I'm your best friend."

And we giggled and giggled.

He has a way with me.

The door is...locked.

2011-09-08T17:50:00.002-06:00

That's what Micah was trying to say.

Except it kept coming out all wrong.

"The door is f***ed, Mom."

What?

"The door is f***ed."

Oh my. What?

Then he holds up his toy key and says, "Mommy. The door is f***ed."

Ah. The door is locked. Right. Locked.

(Don't think I didn't laugh, because we all laughed. Very much.)

Flag football

2011-09-08T17:49:00.002-06:00

We're trying something new this year: flag football in the fall, basketball this winter and soccer in the spring.

My hunch (by the looks of the last 4 practices) is that flag football might not play to his creative strengths. Except then the coach says things like, "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about! Way to go Ethan!" And, "Woooo! Ethan is an all star today!"

I suppose time will tell.

Photos to come!

Dr. Dunham: your well-dressed surgeon

2011-09-08T07:04:00.003-06:00

He looked at his left leg and said, in a sleepy haze, "Oh no. Look at my pant leg."

And then he glanced at his right leg to make sure it was okay, only to realize that it was ripped clear up to his thigh.

And then we laughed and laughed and laughed.

I'm glad he noticed this before he left for work!

Sidewalk Chalk

2011-09-08T07:01:00.002-06:00

We love sidewalk chalk in this subdivision.

Even the door-to-door salesmen say so.

Micah Jacques

2011-09-08T06:54:00.004-06:00

"Mommy? Are you Mommy Jacques?"

No, but what's Pépé's name?

"Pépé JACQUES!"

That's right, kiddo. You get your name from him.

It's coming...

2011-08-21T07:59:00.001-06:00

You might be wondering what in the world is taking so long.

They're coming soon. I promise!

School Supplies.

2011-07-18T12:16:00.002-06:00

We're mid-conversation when all of a sudden I realized that if I wanted my son to actually have school supplies, I'd have to get them, like...yesterday.

For any of you who have purchased kid's school supplies, you know the drill: either go early enough in the summer so that they're fully stocked or make do with whatever they have left.

Which is not Ethan's favorite since it means he ends up with a pink composition notebook.

So off we trekked to Target to get 'er done before our family vacation.

Which is when I discovered "wide-ruled lined paper" on the list.

Wha?

Seriously, people. When did he grow up?

Growing up.

2011-07-05T13:09:00.001-06:00

Not so long ago, before we welcomed sweet little Micah into our family, I snapped this adorable picture of Lanny and his little bitty.

(2007)

And then, somewhere along the way, this happened...

(2011)

Even as I type this, Ethan is sitting across from me at a table just outside of Panera, playing with his iPod Touch: downloading games, googling "the world's biggest house," dreaming big. It's inevitable: they do grow up.

But allow me to be that mom for just a moment, if you will. He will be towering over me soon enough (probably as soon as fourth grade - it's not hard to outgrow this momma), but let me clarify one thing here: he will always be my little bitty.

How a boy sees his dad.

2011-07-05T12:57:00.006-06:00

Ethan, 2007

( age 4)

Micah, 2011

(age 3)

He's just a tall guy, anyway you look at it.

Jet cars and sunglasses

2011-07-05T11:27:00.004-06:00

Lanny thought it would be fun to take the kids to see the jet car national races, so we scooped the family up, gathered our ear plugs, excitement and sunglasses, and headed down to Bandimere Speedway.

As we arrived, before I could even see the cars, I heard the first one race by in all its loudness and I started crying.

Wait.

What?

Why the tears? And the shortness of breath? And the increased heart rate?

The sound.

My childhood.

My mom.

Go figure.

You just can't be ready for the unexpected emotions the memories evoke. But it's okay, I had my super huge sunglasses on and no one even knew.

It took me about 30 minutes but I did become that mom, making those memories with our kids.

The racetrack might be one of his love languages,

but this one would rather be in a quiet playroom;

the jet cars were a bit too loud,

(admittedly, they shook me to my core)

so were the hot rods,

and the mini drag racers.

And then we got to cap the night off with a great fireworks display,

which really amused this one,

and then, well... you're not surprised are you?

My Little Pilot, Ethan.

2011-07-01T14:08:00.004-06:00

One of Lanny's attending physicians owns a couple of airplanes. Lanny's gotten to fly them before, so when the doc offered to take Ethan up, Lanny jumped all over that opportunity.

Here they are before 6:30am ready for take off.

Ethan got to fly it from take off to landing, with a couple of flips in between. Oh! the sweet memories this dad is giving his little boys.

I love it.

The one that knows the way to my heart.

2011-06-24T11:08:00.004-06:00

He would just die if he knew what I was about to post on here; and someday (when he's old enough to no longer be embarrassed), he'll be proud that I cared enough to post it anyway.

This sweet boy - the one that just doesn't dig public displays of affection - sent me this "text" via Words With Friends:

Hammond (a.k.a. "Haman" in 8-year-old phonetics) is the stuffed animal he left in my car.

Oh, and then also, he loves me.

He loves me.

And he told me.

(in private)

And, as if it were possible, that made me love him even more.

Backyard discoveries.

2011-06-24T11:07:00.001-06:00

He actually stopped to smell the roses.

Of course he did...

he's Micah.

Sweet kisses.

2011-06-24T11:04:00.001-06:00

I'll take 'em while I can get 'em.

Spring Fling 2011

2011-06-22T08:47:00.007-06:00

Once a year, Lanny and I get all dolled up in cocktail attire and head to a fabulous little joint in Downtown Denver for the annual St. Joe's Spring Fling extravaganza to celebrate the surgical residents who have made it through their five years of tough, tough training.

(We're two years away from this being our big day!)

This year, the third year residents (Lanny, Eric and Paula) were in charge of putting the evening on...and they did a remarkable job!

See for yourselves!

The event took place at Kevin Taylor's Opera House restaurant this year.

What's a cocktail party without a handsome man sitting on the piano, with a microphone?

(No, he didn't sing.)

And the guests of honor.

(from left to right: Nick and Lindsey Paulk,

Mike and Angela LaBelle, James and Marion Boyd)

And so they roasted and joked and laughed.

They showed hysterical videos and slide shows that crossed life spans.

They gave heartfelt thanks for the leadership and legacy they're leaving.

They reveled in the joy of completing their surgical residency.

They've really become some of our dearest friends.

I'm sad to see them go...

And thrilled to be so close to the end of our residency journey!

Job well done, sweet man of my life.

Oh, how He loves me.

2011-06-14T11:32:00.003-06:00

They are the words He's given to describe me,
through friends and whispers and scripture,
in love and affirmation.

They are me.
Me.
Lest I forget...

Happy birthday, Spike!

2011-06-02T14:38:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was Spike's one-year anniversary in our home, otherwise known as his birthday, also remembered as the one-year anniversary of this event.

We marked our calendar last year and transferred the birthday over to the new year's calendar in January.

So when the day arrived, Ethan asked if we could please go to Pet Smart after school so he could buy Spike a birthday present.

We scooped up his little duct taped wallet with his $23.00 in it and made it the afternoon's plan. Off to Pet Smart after school!

On our way to the store, he decided that his limit would be $8.00. We spent about 5 minutes making the best decision ever (a colorful new large rock for his fish bowl, $7.99) and then walked around saying hello to the birds and fish and cats and puppies and snakes and hamsters and turtles and frogs and crickets. That was Micah's favorite part.

And then he walked right up to the checkout counter, placed his item on the counter and pulled out his wallet. As three new customers lined up with baskets full of items to purchase, and the cashier grew increasingly nervous that her line was getting backed up, I wasn't in a hurry to jump in and speed up the transaction. As a matter of fact, Micah and I stepped back and let Ethan make his first birthday present purchase. Sweet boy, and his sweet heart.

Happy birthday, Spike!

You have a pretty spectacular owner.

Soccer 2011

2011-06-01T15:02:00.004-06:00

I was blessed when the coach asked me to take the end-of-year team photos this year. This is one really fun group of kiddos...but I suppose you wouldn't have guessed that.

Great season, Trailblazers!

A bunch of superstars, these kids: they only lost one game all season.
(And they won all of the other games like 5 to 0 or 6 to 1.)

Small talk with small people.

2011-06-01T14:03:00.003-06:00

"Micah, you're cute."

"I not cute. I big."

"Why not?"

"Because I small."

"Is mommy cute?"

"No. You not cute. You heavy."

* * *

"Micah you're such a great little brother."

"I not little. I big. I a big little brother."

* * *

"Micah, you have crazy hair."

(It really was crazy. Like my grandpa used to say, "It looks like you brushed your hair with the legs of your alarm clock." - maybe that doesn't translate as well into English as well as it does in my head.)

"It's not crazy. It's ferfect."

(we're still working on our p's)

* * *

"Mom, was Joshua there when I came out?"

"No, but his mom was."

"Was it gross?"

"Yes."

"Was it bloody?"

"Yes."

"How did I come out if there is no hole?"

"I'll tell you when you're 18."

"I think I know: they drill a small hole in your stomach and you squeeze me out."

He totally knows.

2011-05-23T11:17:00.004-06:00

In case there was any question before, this weekend Micah showed me that he understands me just fine. He totally had me fooled.

* * *

Keep the water inside the tub, okay Micah? In-the-tub. I said as I closed his shower curtain and left him to his wild imagination sea adventures.

I returned to the "crime scene" about 10 minutes later to find an inch of water across the entire bathroom floor.

A full inch.

Micah! What have you done?!

Um. Uh. Uh uh um. Uh. Daddy spank me.

(This child has been spanked like 3 times. Ever.)

What did you do?

I dump the cup.

Yes, yes you did. (like 6 cups, actually) Do you think you need a spanking?

Yes. And then, as he got up to walk away, he looked me right in the eyes and said, I knew better, Mom.

(Mom. He called me Mom. Not Mommy, not Mummy. Mom.)

So I sent him downstairs to look his tall daddy right in the eyes and request his punishment.

Daddy, you spank me now.

And Lanny looked at me as if to say, 'is that the deal on the table here?'

You spank me, Daddy?

How's a dad supposed to discipline that? Just give me a kiss, kiddo. And don't do that again.

Late night with Oprah.

2011-05-10T09:53:00.000-06:00

It was 1:42am when I rolled over to peek at the clock.

I noticed light and noise coming from our living room. What’s a wife to do? I smacked Lanny in the arm and told him to go be my hero. So he grabbed his baseball bat – just kidding – went downstairs and came back in giggles.

Micah was curled up with my leopard-print snuggy on our sofa watching Oprah. Chris Rock on Oprah. At 1:42am.

“What are you doing, Micah?”

“I watch TV, Daddy.”

Santa Claus and anatomy.

2011-05-10T09:47:00.004-06:00

"That's right: there's no Santa Claus and mommy doesn't have a penis."

Of course there's a story...

We love a good tickle fest on our reading room floor. For the most part, no one really gets hurt - or at least we don't notice because we're too busy laughing. But on this night in particular, someone (a certain three-year-old), as an act of hanging-upside-down-self-defense, grabbed an adult someone's genitalia (you can take a wild guess who) and yanked.

Daddy yelped, Micah squealed with giggles (because he was upside down), and Ethan and I laughed and laughed and laughed.

And then Ethan threatened me: "I'll pull yours!"

"I don't have one, goofball!"

Silence.

(crickets)

More silence.

"What? What do you mean you don't have one?!"

And then I laughed so loud I'm pretty sure I startled our pet fish.

"Oh, you didn't know that? Well Daddy will tell you when you're twelve."

So, in my laughter I made the above proclamation. And Lanny asked that I please get that exact statement on to the blog.

So, here you go, Babe.

Home wuk.

2011-05-06T12:03:00.003-06:00

This little routine is a part of our every afternoon.

Homework.
(math homework on graph paper, to be exact)

Which Micah would really like to be a part of.

"Mom, I wanna do home wuk."

And then I remembered something my mom used to do:

So I busted out my pencil and used the edge of Ethan's homework folder to make Micah a sheet of "graph paper."

Happy, happy boys!

Well, one was really happy about the "home wuk" . . . the other, not so much.

Giggles.

2011-05-06T09:21:00.008-06:00

They're all blurry. I know. But they're boys: they wrestle and tickle and tackle and wiggle. They chase each other around and fill our home with laughter. It's okay with me that the photos are blurry, because we're building relationships here. Really, really great ones.

Honoring Mrs. Hyde

2011-05-05T12:17:00.004-06:00

They assign a fun category to each day of the week and ask us to be creative in how we celebrate and honor the teacher who loves on and enriches our little guy.

Tuesday's category: flowers.

(check out that signature)

She challenges him in the areas she knows he thrives,
and encourages him in the areas he needs a little more guidance.
She knows him.
(And 27 other little second graders.)
It takes a special lady to make each child feel loved and known.
Thank you for doing just that and changing his life.

One of their favorite people

2011-05-05T11:18:00.006-06:00

Way to make them smile, Mike!

Easter Joy!

2011-05-05T11:18:00.001-06:00

In lieu of this year's Easter outfits, we chose...well, not to get Easter outfits. I had to work all day and the boys were more excited about playing outside with friends. So what's a mom to do? I skipped the over-priced adorableness and let them pick their own clothes from their closets.

Don't judge me.

We were invited to do lunch at a friend's home following the two-day church extravaganza, which I was all about! So nearly 30 of us gathered for a delicious meal and Easter egg hunt. Then we went home and hid the other 100 eggs throughout the house.

Who wants to hunt for eggs in the freezing cold twice?

They had a blast - as you'll see for yourself . . .

First black eye (or maybe it's his second).

2011-05-03T13:58:00.002-06:00

When I asked his brother what happened, I got the typical, "I have no idea how this could have happened. He was standing up and then he wasn't." It's entirely possible that this was a one-man deal, but I have my doubts.

Either way, he cried hard for about 7 seconds and then snuggled up into his blanket and stayed that way for the rest of the morning. Sweet little pea.

Tiiiiiickle Tiiiiiime!

2011-05-03T13:35:00.006-06:00

(I'm hardly on this side of the camera. Honestly, I remember why now.
But it's great to have moments like these caught on camera.)

Meet Macey.

2011-05-03T09:36:00.003-06:00

Those of you that know my Ethan, know a couple of things to be true of him.

He loves to create: cook, draw, make, build.

He loves to drive go-karts.

He's great at soccer.

He has an extraordinary heart.

And he does not like to play with girls. Period.

There have been one or two along the way: Nina, the cute and adventuresome neighbor. And Chloe, the cool boy next door's little sister. One of those friendships ended with a move out of the subdivision; the other with her expression of love. That's his cue to s e p a r a t e.

Enter Macey.

She likes his Legos.

She knows how to handle a light saber.

And she wrestles him to the ground.

He calls her a tomboy. I call her his new "girl" friend.

Tender Moments

2011-04-17T08:40:00.001-06:00

"If you can call when you go to heaven, try to do that, okay Mom?"

"You bet, kiddo."

2011-04-13T14:16:00.003-06:00

It's what we call the "Justin Bieber Look."

He does not love that we call it that.

* * *

And this one just needs a picture taken of him when
his brother gets a snapshot moment.
I'm totally okay with that. (grin)

The potty-training look.

2011-04-13T14:14:00.002-06:00

Yes, those are two different boots.

Yes, there are underwear underneath that tee shirt.

Yes, he's happy (as always) and cheering for himself.

And yes, he's got the cutest legs ever.

"You'll need to rest."

2011-04-08T12:58:00.003-06:00

Some of you may recall the disappointment that came with the end of my running career: worn down cartilage, tired tendons, pain, pain, pain.

I was out for so many months that I took up weight lifting in the meantime.

That little hobby turned into a passion fairly quickly, and my running shoes haven't hit the pavement in nearly a year.

About nine weeks ago, I hurt my shoulder weight lifting. I finally succumbed to the pressure (eh hem: pain) and went to see the doctor.

"I think you may have torn your rotator cuff."

"Pardon me? What did you say?"

"Your rotator cuff. Have you heard of it? I believe you may have torn it."

I just laughed, because, really, how many little bitty gals actually do that? Taking an assumption from my knee injury, I figured my shoulder tendons were just tired.

"Okay, so what does that mean?"

"blah, blah, blah...take a break...blah, blah...disconnected...blah, blah, blah...MRI...blah, blah...surgery."

"Wait a second. What?"

"Stephanie (only those who conceived me and medical professionals call me that), you need to take a break from lifting weights. You need to nurture your shoulder if you want it to heal. You need physical therapy, like, now. If this hasn't started healing in 2-3 weeks, we'll need to discuss..."

Oh, for crying out loud.

Those of you that know me know that I don't do "rest" well. So, I'll take it easier and see how it goes. In the meantime, I'll see your friendly faces at the gym tomorrow at 8:30!

Soccer begins!

2011-04-05T17:23:00.003-06:00

"I'm open. I'm open."

A little face-to-face coaching chat with Dad.

Who's going to get there first?
I love watching him sprint like this.

Look who got there first...

* * *

And leading up to his first goal of the season...

Drum roll, please.

SCORE!!

High five, Coach!

"Dude! That was awesome!"

Happy boy, happy mom.

Texas: The Garretts

2011-04-05T16:03:00.007-06:00

When we travel to Texas, we make it a point to see certain friends in the midst of all of our family. These two, Colin and Nikki Garrett, are such friends... :)

I've known Colin for 15 years, and his gorgeous wife Nikki for 8 years.

Thanks for making the time and the drive, friends!

Texas: cousins

2011-04-05T15:52:00.002-06:00

(Yep. That would be Meemaw's front yard.)

I just love this one.

Texas: something had to break

2011-04-05T15:51:00.000-06:00

It just happened to be his nose.

Texas: BeeBop

2011-04-05T15:47:00.002-06:00

Texas: a little fun at Uncle's

2011-04-05T15:38:00.003-06:00

My mom's sweet brother.

His oldest daughter, Samantha.

His beautiful wife, Rita.
Their second oldest daughter, Serina.

And the twins: Katarina and Katrina.
(They love game night. Obviously.)

The deliciousness of the South.

One extraordinary Nana.
She is one funny partner on game night. Funny.

It never feels like enough time together.

Texas: a little park break

2011-04-05T15:32:00.003-06:00

bee

2011-04-05T15:26:00.003-06:00

Look who came to visit me :)

(we crazy)

And then I went to visit her :)

Welcome!

2011-04-05T15:19:00.002-06:00

Our prayers were answered and we welcomed our new next door neighbors last month. They're a very nice family with five kids and they love the Lord! What better reason to get Ethan in the kitchen to bake?

Cooking like grandma taught me.

2011-04-05T15:09:00.002-06:00

My grandma's taught me a lot of things throughout my 33 years of life.
One of my favorites is cooking gnocchi from scratch.

Another thing I learned from my grandma is
letting the little bitties around you join in the fun.

Look at his focus: roll it, cut it, push it across the fork.
He's learning young.

Num. Num. Num!

The cutest little bath time invention.

2011-04-05T14:33:00.004-06:00

We have this rule in our home: no scaring each other at the top of the stairs. Our boys love to scare each other into a fit of giggles, but I'm sure you can understand why this location is of particular concern to me.

After a couple of reminders and a third warning, Big Brother was told that he'd have to go to bed early for nearly scaring Little Brother down a flight of stairs.

As I was tucking Ethan into bed, I asked Micah to please go brush his teeth. His tuck-in time was only minutes away as well.

Within minutes, Micah showed up at Ethan's doorway and stuck his black tongue out at me.

His black tongue.

What?

"Micah, what's on your...? (oh no!)"

I rushed out of Ethan's room, grabbed Micah on my way to my bathroom and discovered the tub of Crayola Colored Bath Fizzers unscrewed and opened. He'd scooted his stool over to my bathroom counter and eaten one of the bath water color thingies.

I quickly called for Ethan to run downstairs and grab a cup for Micah to rinse his mouth out. Then sent him to get Micah's toothbrush. No, not that toothbrush, the bigger one. So, Ethan panted as he rushed around the house grabbing everything I was asking for.

I'm madly brushing his teeth, teaching him how to swish, swish, swish and rinse, and wiping his tongue with a washcloth, while holding a cell phone up to my ear with my shoulder calling Doctor Daddy at work.

"Babe! Micahjustateabathfizzything! I'mreadingthelabelanddon'tseeanythingaboutingestion! Histongueisbluepleasehelpme!"

You think that's hard to understand, you should have been on the other end of that phone line.

I let Lanny go so he could look up the product and tell me exactly what I needed to do.

Ethan stands right by my side, hugs me and tells me he loves me so much.

(Let's not forget here that 15 minutes ago this one was in a heap of trouble. Yeah. Milk it for what it's worth, kiddo: Micah's faux-pas trumped yours.)

When I hadn't heard back from Lanny, I called him back.

He answered.

Laughing. Hard. Laughing hard.

"Babe. Why are you laughing? You think this is funny?"

Turns out, the product is nontoxic.

Of course it is; it's meant to be used in little kids' bath tubs.

And it also turns out that the ingredients in each little colored pill are the exact ingredients doctors would give to patients who are constipated.

Great.

Well, that's a relief. But when can I expect the explosive blue poopy?

Celebrating my favorite 8-year-old!

2011-04-05T09:38:00.015-06:00

~ A little recap of Ethan's birth week ~

Ethan's birthday celebration began with Mommy and Daddy
visiting his class with two and a half dozen donuts.
He was asked to stand on a desk while the entire
classroom sang a funny rendition of "Happy Birthday to Ethan!"
(something about a chicken, cha cha cha, and a monkey, I believe)

The next day, we invited ten friends to celebrate!

Ethan's LEGO birthday theme gave us plenty of room for creativity.

We put some of Ethan's most prized LEGO creations on display.
(See that woman in the mirror?
That's a woman old enough to be the mother of an 8-year-old.
When did that happen?)

Ethan and I spent hours creating ships, cars and jets
in preparation for this first LEGO station.
Each boy got to pick what he'd like to create and then
grabbed a bag without knowing what pieces were tucked inside.

Everyone worked diligently for 30 minutes,

and then they shared their creations with the rest of us.

Caden,
(Ethan's best friend since kindergarten)

Andrew,
(a friend from school
who was very excited about this part; can't you tell?)

Jonathan,
(a friend from church)

Bryce,
(a friend from church and soccer)

Peter,
(a friend from church)

and Micah.

Logan,
(a friend from school)

Blake,
(a friend from school)

Matthew,
(a close friend of the family's and friend from church)

and the Birthday Boy.

Then they moved over to the coffee table where they found LEGO
station #2: a jar filled with LEGO pieces. They had to guess
how many LEGO men were hidden throughout the jar.
Winner got a big fat chocolate Crunch bar.

And then they moved to station #3...

...where they split up into two teams and went to work
to see who could build the tallest LEGO tower.

The tower had to stand on its own for 30 seconds.
Ethan's team won!
(Winning team members each got a role of Bubble Tape;
non-winning team members each got a whoopy cushion.)
...

And then Daddy threw an audible.
He challenged those two teams to build an egg-carrier out of LEGOs.
List of supplies given to each team:

Styrofoam peanuts
grocery bags
tissue paper
paper napkins
LEGOs
one raw egg

Here's what ensued:

planning,

team work,

drastic measures,

final products,

instructions,

launching,

and inspecting.

Ethan's team won!
Theirs was the only egg in one piece upon impact.
Smart boys. :)

And then cake, followed by gifts.
The brightly colored, beautifully wrapped gifts :)

And guess what happened when the party was wrapping up?
A full-on 11-person Nerf battle.
Inside. Outside. Front yard. Backyard.

* * *

And the next morning, after a special pancake breakfast
and a beautiful rendition of "Happy Birthday to you, Ethan!"
we opened more gifts.

Lots of gifts.

(guess who got a LEGO gift too)

(and the coveted iPod Touch)

Somebody turned eight on February 27th. . .and he was a joy to celebrate!

Look who's cute as ever...

2011-04-04T12:07:00.001-06:00

3 going on...7?

2011-04-02T17:51:00.003-06:00

I thought I was ready because he's not my first child and I've done it before.

I thought I was ready because I was tired of cleaning dirty diapers and wiping down bibs.

I thought I was ready. . .

And then it happened.

I kissed diapers, bibs, and the dining room booster seat goodbye in one single week.

Turns out, I wasn't so ready.

But he was.

And so I had to go with it.

Bring on the big boy underwear, bigger words, complex sentences, bigger toothbrushes, more opinions and preschool talk.

And Lord, please don't let me forget what the years have brought.

"Yes."

2011-03-15T10:02:00.005-06:00

I wanted to entitle this blog entry "There is a God," but I stopped shy of doing so for fear that you'd be expecting some theological discourse here.

No discourse. But by golly, there is a God.

* * *

We've asked. We've begged. We've tried to coax.

We threw the party of all parties: dozens of balloons, a new Lightning McQueen potty, favorite character undies, a variety of juice boxes, party favors and a basketful of gifts.

We bribed.

Nope.

Not interested.

So we stopped.

Five weeks later... (in a typical before bathtime conversation)

"Hey, Micah. Do you want to go potty?" Lanny asked.

"Yes."

Wait. What?

"You want to go potty?!"

"Yes."

Oh. Oh wow. Okay.

And he went potty. No joke. We cheered and hooted and hollered. I picked him up and swung him around with heaps of congratulatory cheers. I told him I was so proud of him. (Which spurred on him telling everyone in the house how very proud he is of them.)

Two hours later, as he's running around in Lightning McQueen undies, he went potty again.

The next day, he refused to put on a diaper. Or a pull-up. No ma'am.

"How 'bout deez?" he said as he went to pick out some undies.

Well alright, buddy. Let's give it a shot.

With the exception of a nap time accident, he had five successful trips to the potty.

And then last night...he kept dry pants from 7:30pm to 7:30am. Twelve hours of dry, followed by one successful trip to the potty when he woke up.

Presents! Presents all around!

Turns out, what they say might just be true: When they're ready, they're ready.

2011-03-10T10:12:00.001-07:00

I'm coooo-ooooold, Mommy.

And I'm hungry too...

Just because they're cute...

2011-03-04T18:39:00.004-07:00

(Look at this hair. Good grief.)

Brothers.

2011-03-04T18:27:00.002-07:00

(love this look - it's the Big Brother look)

These eyes.

2011-03-04T18:14:00.002-07:00

We makin' da pizza.

2011-03-04T18:11:00.002-07:00

Look who fell asleep on Laurie's stairs...

2011-03-04T18:02:00.003-07:00

Two days later, he came down with the flu.

Homework time.

2011-03-04T17:57:00.002-07:00

Can't handle the hair.

2011-03-04T17:44:00.003-07:00

I know.

It's shocking that I drove over the speed limit to get these two to the hair salon.

This was three weeks ago.

Can you believe that it's time again? Their hair grows like crazy!

Making memories.

2011-03-04T15:18:00.004-07:00

Lanny and I took a mini get-away for our ten-year wedding anniversary. We left our kiddos with some dear friends, and "took off" for the weekend. We packed our suitcases and headed about ten miles west to the Inverness Hotel.

(smile)

We slumbered and ate and wined and dined. We saw movies and stayed up late and enjoyed hotel room coffee after sleeping in far beyond our typical early-rising mornings. We talked and played and sang and laughed. And we had a wonderful weekend.

Lanny even agreed to go to String Beads with me. I made a birthday bracelet for my amazing grandma; and he made a bracelet for me. How wonderful is he??

He's my favorite.
Thanks for ten pretty stellar years, Babe.

Mr. McQueen

2011-03-04T15:14:00.003-07:00

We have a couple of favorites these days.

And we visit them once a day,
via the movie Cars,
the Lego set,
or the 7 toy cars that zip by my feet at any given moment.
This little bitty loves Lightning McQueen.
Loves him.

Napkin Lunch Notes

2011-03-03T10:27:00.003-07:00

I was tucking Ethan's homework folder into his backpack this morning when I noticed he'd kept a little napkin lunch note that I'd placed in his lunch just a few days before.

"Aww. You kept my note, Ethan..."

He smiles.

"Does it embarrass you when I tuck little notes into your lunch, or is it an okay thing to do?"

"Only sometimes when I show them to my friends." (Insert a mom's smile here. He shows his notes to his friends; how cute is that?) "So, usually I leave them in my backpack, but I read them every single time, Mom."

Light in the darkness

2011-01-21T13:48:00.003-07:00

Our breakfast topic of conversation this morning was "being a light in a dark world."

We discussed the difference between the Prince of Darkness and the Prince of Light.

We listed different things we witness every day and determined if they were evil or good. (i.e. The kid that shoves another kid onto the ground during recess - vs. - the kid that gives them a hand to help them up.)

And then we talked about who we've been called to be: A Light.

And then, on his own volition...

"I think I know how kids grow up to become evil, Mom. Their parents let them do whatever the heck they want. Those are some pretty dumb parents."

I think he may actually get it: why we do what we do. I think he knows that we do it because we love him.

And so, on that note, I sent him out with this: "Go be a light, sweet boy. Let the world see Christ in you because of how you love them."

Precious, precious boy.

Sweet gift.

2011-01-14T16:49:00.002-07:00

I entered the familiar environment of my favorite coffee shop (Solid Grounds), tossed my bag of books onto the big cozy chair in front of the fireplace, and stood in line to order a cup of Chai. I don't really know what size I order because I order it by the mug.

"Good morning! What size would you like?"

"Oh...hmm...that mug, please. The toffee colored one that makes me happy."

But I digress.

As I stood in a line of about 6 people, I noticed that the barista was a darling, quirky young lady that I happened to have met when at the wake for Tricia's sweet Robb.

And just as soon as her eyes met mine, she flew out from behind the counter, wrapped her arms around my neck and squeezed tightly. "Hi, Alli!"

(smiling) "Hi! It's Amanda, right?"

"It is. You love Tricia, so I love you."

Yes, that was the beginning to my day set apart for sitting in big plush chair, in front of a fireplace, with my favorite hot drink, my Bible, my journal, and my current read.

It was a delightful start to a very big day.